Reality Bites: Dave Chappelle Cares About His Community Too

March 10, 2017

There are a lot of social and political issues that are affecting people nationwide. Communities across the nation are feeling the heat and trying to do what they can to shed light. Town Hall meetings are the perfect gatherings to let local officials know how people are feeling about what’s going on in their community. Dave Chappelle recently made headlines when he showed up at his City Council meeting in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

There was a recent incident involving police violence in Yellow Springs. Chappelle stopped by to voice his opinion about the changes happening in the area. Yellow Springs is a neighborhood where everybody knows everyone. Since Chappelle grew up there, he can accurately site the changes. He made it a point to take his two-minutes and use them wisely. He made mention that the familiarity between the people and law enforcement officials has changed and the tone is not the same.

“Now we’re being policed by what feels like an alien force,” – Dave Chappelle

The incident in question happened on New Year’s Eve when majority of the town was gathered for a celebration. He made mention that he did not feel that safe and ended up leaving early with his family. As it would be, the tasing incident occurred and made headlines. Shortly after the incident, the Police Chief resigned.

Chappelle urged the town leaders to take the initiative and change what’s happening with their law enforcement and the community. He made it a point to highlight that this could be a perfect opportunity to be an example for all the world to see amidst chaos. Being familiar with the community and the people living in it is an important factor when having to police it. A new police chief needs to be appointed and Chappelle wants to make sure that it is done right. Local politics are important and communities can be a shining example for change, especially in this Post-Obama era.

While people think celebrities are not affected by these kinds of situations, they are. As the tone of the country changes with the new administration on deck, a lot more celebrities are stepping out and speaking up. Many of them care about their community and what happens to the people that live there, as well as humanity on a whole.